Humn11: Art Appreciation

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Module 5: Historical
Development of Art and
the Visual Art Styles
Module Overview
For this module, we are going to talk about how conceptions of art have changed over
periods of history. A study of the historical development of art will allow us to understand
different social conditions in the past and how it affects the art produced today. Also, this
module will tackle the different styles that affect the overall look of an artwork. These styles
are affected not only because of the period it was created, but also of some factors like the
artist’s culture and personal style.
Motivational Task
What kind of artist are you? What kind of style would you employ? And
what kind subject/s would you like to show in your work?
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Lesson 5.1: Western Art History

Lesson Summary

This lesson tackles the progress and development of Art from the beginning of human
existence. This will also show the intrinsic value of art as a form of language that narrates
knowledge, beliefs, and experiences of a specific historical period.

Learning Outcomes

 Identify the underlying history and philosophy of the era or movement.

 Develop and enhance the students’ awareness and understanding of the visual world.
 Broaden the students’ perspectives and ways of thinking through the study of a
variety of works of art.
 Strengthening the students’ observational skills and recognition of the complexities
and continual rearrangement of elements and principles of art.

Motivational Task

Using any art material, draw/illustrate/paint (you can also create a collage/video
compilation using your phone) the things that make you happy. Every time you feel sad or
anxious look at this artwork, and remind yourself that despite what you feel,
something/someone can always bring a smile on our face. Smile 

Discussion

Art history, also called Art Historiography, is the historical study of the visual arts
that is concerned with identifying, classifying, describing, evaluating, interpreting, and
understanding art products, objects of art, and historic development of the visual arts. This is
concerned with the study of art in a specific period in history. Art historians analyze the
meaning of a certain visual art (painting, sculpture, architecture) at the time they were created.
Another mission of Art History is to established authorial origins of artworks, i.e. discovering
who created a particular artwork, when, when and for what reason. The study of Art History
is important because it allows us to understand the history of humanity through art.
Art history also involves Iconography, which is the analysis of symbols, themes, and
subject matter in the visual arts, as a major part of art history. For example, art historians can
help interpret the meaning of a certain artwork based on the visual elements and objects
he/she is able to identify in the artwork. This allows the art historian to understand what these
objects represented at the time the artwork was created, and helps us understand and learn the
way of living and civilizations of the past.
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Art History Timeline

The foundation of art history can be traced back tens of thousands of years to when
ancient civilizations used available techniques and media to depict culturally significant
subject matter. Different places and historical periods have their own dominant themes that
depict their ways of living.

Pre-Historic Art (40,000-4,000 B.C.)

Until recently, many believed the earliest civilization of man can only date
back to a few thousands of years until art historians discovered different artifacts showing the
civilization of man came early than what was thought. Art historians traced the history of art
and civilization back to the Prehistoric era, before written records were kept. The earliest
artifacts come from the Paleolithic era, or the Old Stone Age, in the form of rock carving,
engravings, pictorial imagery, sculptures, and stone arrangements.

Figure { SEQ Figure \* ARABIC }: Venus of

Laussel, an Upper Paleolithic (Aurignacian)
carving

Venus of Hohle Fels: Oldest

known Venus figurine. Also the
oldest known, undisputed
depiction of a human being in
prehistoric art. Made of
mammoth tusk and found in
Germany.

Art from this period relied on the use of natural pigments (one that is found in nature
that is ground, sifted, washed, and in rarer cases, heated to create a desired hue) and stone
carvings to create representations of objects, animals, and rituals that governed the existence
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of a civilization. One of the most famous examples is that of the Paleolithic cave paintings
found in the complex cave of Lascaux in France. Though discovered in 1940, they are
estimated to be up to 20,000 years old and depict large animals and vegetations from the era.

Figure { SEQ Figure \* ARABIC }: Prehistoric cave paintings in Lascaux, France

Ancient Art (30,000 B.C.- A.D 400)

Ancient art was produced by advanced civilizations, which in this case refers to those
with an established written language. These civilizations included Mesopotamia, Egypt,
Greece, and those of the Americas.

Anubis Weighing the Soul of

the Scribe Ani, from the
Egyptian Book of the Dead, c.
1275 BCE.

Assembly of the gods

Relief from the
Parthenon by Phidias
Greek Age (7th-4th
century B.C.)

The medium of a work of art from this period varies depending on the civilization
that produced it, but most art served similar purposes: to tell stories, decorate utilitarian
objects like bowls and weapons, display religious and symbolic imagery, and demonstrate
social status. Many works depict stories of rulers, gods, and goddesses.
One of the most famous works from ancient Mesopotamia is the Code of Hammurabi.
Created around 1792 B.C., the piece bears a Babylonian set of laws carved in stone, adorned
by an image of King Hammurabi—the sixth King of Babylonia—and the Mesopotamian god,
Shabash.
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Unknown, Code of
Hammurabi, circa
1792 and circa 1750
B.C.

Medieval (A.D. 500 – A.D. 1400)

The Middle Ages, often referred to as the “Dark Ages,” marked a period of economic
and cultural deterioration following the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 A.D. Much of the
artwork produced in the early years of the period reflects that darkness, characterized by
grotesque imagery and brutal scenery.

An illustration of
King Arthur
fighting the
Saxons, from
“The
Rochefoucauld
Grail”

Art produced during this time was centered around the Church. As the first
millennium passed, more sophisticated and elaborately decorated churches emerged; windows
and silhouettes were adorned with biblical subjects and scenes from classical mythology.

Mosaic of Jesus Christ

in Istanbul, Turkey.
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Madonna and Child with

Saint Jerome and Saint John
the Baptist. Sold for $1,350,000
via Sotheby’s (May 2018).

This period was also responsible for the emergence of the illuminated manuscript and
Gothic architecture style. Definitive examples of influential art from this period include the
catacombs in Rome, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the Lindisfarne Gospels, one of the best-
known examples of the illuminated manuscript, and Notre Dame, a Parisian cathedral and
prominent example of Gothic architecture.

The Lindisfarne Gospels.

Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey. Sold for £4600 via Dominic
Winter Auctions (November
2017)

Figure { SEQ Figure \* ARABIC }: Notre Dame Cathedral prior

to the fire in 2019

Renaissance (1400-1600)
This style of painting, sculpture, and decorative art was characterized by a focus on
nature and individualism, with the thought of man as independent and self-reliant. Though
these ideals were present in the late Medieval period, they flourished in the 15th and 16th
centuries, paralleling social and economic changes like secularization.
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Figure { SEQ Figure \*

ARABIC }: “The
Triumph of the Virtues -
Minerva Expelling the
Vices” from the Garden
of Virtue, 1502 (tempera
on canvas) by Andrea
Mantegna (1431-1506)

The Renaissance reached its height in Florence, Italy, due in large part to the Medici,
a wealthy merchant family who adamantly supported the arts and humanism, a variety of
beliefs and philosophies that places emphasis on the human realm. Italian designer Filippo
Brunelleschi and sculptor Donatello were key innovators during this period.

Model of the boat built by The Santa Maria del Fiore

Brunelleschi in 1427 to cathedral by Brunelleschi in
transport marble Florence possesses the largest
brick dome in the world, and is
considered a masterpiece of
European architecture.

The High Renaissance, which lasted from 1490 to 1527, produced influential artists
such as da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael, each of whom brought creative power and
spearheaded ideals of emotional expression.
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Figure { SEQ Figure \* ARABIC }: The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1521

Figure { SEQ Figure \*

ARABIC }: The Birth of
Venus by Sandro
Botticelli, 1485

Artwork throughout the Renaissance was characterized by realism, attention to detail,

and precise study of human anatomy. Artists used linear perspective and created depth
through intense lighting and shading.

Figure { SEQ Figure

\* ARABIC }: Pietro
Perugino, Christ
Handing the Keys to
St. Peter, 1481-
1482. This painting
shows linear
perspective.
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Figure { SEQ Figure

\* ARABIC }:
Vitruvian Man
(c.1490) by Leonardo
Da Vinci (1452-1519)

Art began to change stylistically shortly after the High Renaissance, when clashes
between the Christian faith and humanism gave way to Mannerism.

The Last
Supper by
Leonardo da
Vinci,(1495-96)

Sistine Madonna by Raffaello Sanzio,

1512
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Mannerism (1527- 1680)

Mannerist artists emerged from the ideals of Michelangelo, Raphael, and other Late
Renaissance artists, but their focus on style and technique outweighed the meaning of the
subject matter.

Spring (1573) by Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Often, figures had graceful, elongated limbs, small heads, stylized features and
exaggerated details. This yielded more complex, stylized compositions rather than relying on
the classical ideals of harmonious composition and linear perspective used by their
Renaissance predecessors.

Parmigianino, Madonna with Long

Pontormo, The
Neck, 1534-1540
Deposition, 1526-1528

Some of the most celebrated Mannerist artists include Giorio Vasari, Francesco
Salviati, Domenico Beccafumi, and Bronzino, who is widely considered to be the most
important Mannerist painter in Florence during his time.
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Baroque (1600-1750)
The Baroque period that followed Mannerism yielded ornate, over-the-top visual arts
and architecture. It was characterized by grandeur and richness, punctuated by an interest in
broadening human intellect and global discovery.

The Triumph of the

Immaculate by
Paolo de Matteis,

Baroque Architecture was

designed to appeal to the senses
and used direct, dramatic, and
obvious iconography.

Baroque artists were stylistically complex.

Caravaggio, The
Calling of Saint
Matthew, circa 1599-
1600

Baroque paintings were characterized by drama, as seen in the iconic works of Italian
painter Caravaggio and Dutch painter Rembrandt. Painters used an intense contrast between
light and dark and had energetic compositions matched by rich color palettes.
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Rococo (1699-1750)
Rococo originated in Paris, encompassing decorative art, painting, architecture, and
sculpture. The aesthetic offered a softer style of decorative art compared to Baroque’s
exuberance. Rococo is characterized by lightness and elegance, focusing on the use of natural
forms, asymmetrical design, and subtle colors.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Entrance of the Buontalenti Grotto in Boboli

Swing (1767-1768) Gardens
Painters like Antoine Watteau and Francois Boucher used lighthearted treatments,
rich brushwork, and fresh colors. The Rococo style also easily translated to silver, porcelain,
and French furniture. Many chairs and armoires featured curving forms, floral designs, and an
expressive use of gilt.

Antoine Watteau, ‘The Embarkation for François Boucher, ‘Rinaldo and

Cythera’ (1717) Armida’ (1734)

Chest of drawers by
Charles Cressent
(1730)
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Along with Impressionism, Rococo is considered one of the most influential French
art movements. It is celebrated for both its light-and-airy paintings and its fanciful decorative
arts, which, together, showcase the elegant yet ebullient tastes of 18th-century France.

Neoclassicism (1750-1850)
As its name suggests, the Neoclassical period drew upon elements from classical
antiquity. Archaeological ruins of ancient civilizations in Athens and Naples that were
discovered at the time reignited a passion for all things past, and artists strove to recreate the
great works of ancient art. This translated to a renewed interest in classical ideals of harmony,
simplicity, and proportion.

Jacques-Louis David. The

Oath of the Horatii (1784).
Oil on canvas. Musée du
Louvre, Paris.

Villa Godi Valmarana,

Lonedo di Lugo, Veneto,
Italy. Villa Godi was one of
the first works by Palladio. Its
austere facade, arched
doorways, and minimal
symmetry reflect his
adherence to classical stylistic
values.

Neoclassical artists were influenced by classical elements; in particular, a focus on

idealism. Inevitably, they also included modern, historically relevant depictions in their works.
For example, Italian sculptor Antonio Canova drew upon classical elements in his marble
sculptures, but avoided the cold artificiality that was represented in many of these early
creations.

Left: Paulina Borghese as Venus Victrix, 1805-1808; Right: Psyche Revived by

Cupid’s Kiss, 1757-1822 both by Antonio Canova. Executed in a classical style and
adhering to classical themes, these sculptures are typical example of the Neoclassical
style.
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Romanticism (1780-1850)
Romanticism embodies a broad range of disciplines, from painting to music to
literature. The ideals present in each of these art forms reject order, harmony, and rationality,
which were embraced in both classical art and Neoclassicism. Instead, Romantic artists
emphasized the individual and imagination.
Another defining Romantic ideal was an appreciation for nature, with many turning to
plein air painting, which brought artists out of dark interiors and enabled them to paint
outside. Artists also focused on passion, emotion, and sensation over intellect and reason.

Liberty Leading the

People (July 28,
1830), Eugène
Delacroix, 1830.

Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog,

1818 by Caspar David Friedrich (Left)

Prominent Romantic painters include Henry Fuseli, who created strange, macabre
paintings that explored the dark recesses of human psychology, and William Blake, whose
mysterious poems and images conveyed mystical visions and his disappointment in societal
constraints.
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The Nightmare by The Ancient Days from

Henry Fuseli, 1781 Europe: A Prophecy,
by William Blake, 1794

Realism (1780-1900)
Arguably the first modern art movement, Realism, began in France in the 1840s.
Realism was a result of multiple events: the anti-Romantic movement in Germany, the rise of
journalism, and the advent of photography. Each inspired new interest in accurately capturing
everyday life.
This attention to accuracy is evident in art produced during the movement, which
featured detailed, life-like depictions of subject matter.

Jean-François Millet, The Le déjeuner sur l'herbe

Gleaners, 1857. (Luncheon on the Grass) by
Édouard Manet, 1862-63

One of the most influential leaders of the Realist movement is Gustave Courbet, a
French artist committed to painting only what he could physically see.
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Sleep by Gustave Courbet, 1866. This

work shows Courbet's interest in an erotic
Realism that became prevalent in his later
work. Raw eroticism is delivered without
aid of cupids or mythological justification
of any kind, making this work vulgar to
those with the prevailing taste of the day.

The Wave by Gustave Courbet,

1870.

Art Nouveau (1890-1910)

Art Nouveau, which literally means “New Art,” attempted to create an entirely
authentic movement free from any imitation of styles that preceded it. This movement heavily
influenced applied arts, graphics, and illustration. It focused on the natural world,
characterized by long, sinuous lines and curves.

Figure { SEQ Figure \*

ARABIC }: La Goulue at
the Moulin Rouge, by
Henri de Toulouse-
Lautrec, 1891. Toulouse-
Lautrec is one of Art
Nouveau's most important
graphic artists who was
responsible for raising the
poster from the realm of
advertising ephemera to Wisteria Lamp
high art during the 1890s. by Clara Driscoll,
1901-05.

Influential Art Nouveau artists worked in a variety of media, including architecture,

graphic and interior design, jewelry-making, and painting. Czechoslovakian graphic designer
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Alphonse Mucha is best-known for his theatrical posters of French actress Sarah Bernhardt.
Spanish architect and sculptor Antonio Gaudi went beyond focusing on lines to create curving,
brightly-colored constructions like that of the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, Gaudí

Slavia by Alphonse Mucha, wanted to create a “20th century
1908. Commissioned by the cathedral,” a synthesis of all his
millionaire and philanthropist architectural knowledge with a
Impressionism (1865-1885)
Charles Crane upon the complex system of symbolisms and a
marriage of his daughter visual explication of the mysteries of
Josephine, this painting is a faith.
portrait of Josephine as the Slav
goddess, Slavia.

Impressionism (1865-1885)
Impressionist painters sought to capture the immediate impression of a particular
moment. This was characterized by short, quick brushstrokes and an unfinished, sketch-like
feel. Impressionist artists used modern life as their subject matter, painting situations like
dance halls and sailboat regattas rather than historical and mythological events.

Fog, Voisins by Alfred Sisley, 1874.

Fog, Voisins demonstrates this general
preoccupation with the visual perception
of the natural world through the
application of rough, clearly visible
brushstrokes and the blurry, almost
ethereal rendering of color and form.
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Girl with a Hoop by Pierre-Auguste Renoir,

1885. In this painting, Renoir developed a
new style he dubbed "aigre" (sour), in which
he applied thick, elongated brushstrokes to
evoke natural movement in the backdrop and
soft, textural brushstrokes complemented by
hard lines to portray the young girl in the
foreground.

Claude Monet, a French artist who spearheaded the idea of expressing one’s
perceptions before nature, is virtually synonymous with the Impressionist movement. His
notable works include (refer to the paintings below from left to right) The Water Lily Pond
(1899), Woman with a Parasol (1875), and Impression, Sunrise (1872), from which the name
of the movement itself is derived.

Post-Impressionism (1885- 1910)

Post-Impressionist painters worked independently rather than as a group, but each
influential Post-Impressionist painter had similar ideals. They concentrated on subjective
visions and symbolic, personal meanings rather than observations of the outside world. Post-
Impressionists believed that color could be independent from form and composition as an
emotional and aesthetic bearer of meaning.
To simplify matters, it can be said that Post-Impressionism has two wings: a “left
wing,” comprising artists like Paul Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh, who found
Impressionism unsatisfactory because it lacked emotion, imagination, and spirituality; and a
“right wing,” including Georges Seurat and Paul Cézanne, who found Impressionism
unsatisfactory because it seemed to lack a sense of order, permanence, discipline, and
timelessness.
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Figure { SEQ Figure \* ARABIC }: Vision

After the Sermon by Paul Gauguin, 1888.
Gauguin relied upon the abstraction of the
red ground to communicate the space of
the vision as well as the heightened
emotions present at a religious revelation.
As this work demonstrates, Gauguin
rejected the conventions of industrialized
modern society, in both his art and his life,
through romanticized evocations of the
primitive, the incorporeal, and the
mystical.

Figure { SEQ Figure \* ARABIC }: Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by
Georges Suerat, 1884-1886. Seurat's Sunday Afternoon is perhaps the most famous example of the
painting technique known as Pointillism. Although the picture contains the impressionistic elements
of light and shadow and depicts the leisure activities of the Parisian bourgeoisie, it is an early
example of the artistic reaction to the Impressionist movement.

Figure 37. The Large Bathers by Paul

Cézanne, 1900-1906. In it, Cézanne employed
the technique of constructing visually complex
images composed of simple shapes, lines, and
geometric forms built up from the canvas with
thick impasto.
The spatial ambiguity of the Bathers and
Cézanne's emphasis on formal structure paved
the way for the visual experimentations of
Cubism.
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Figure { SEQ Figure \* ARABIC

}: The Dream by Henri Rousseau,
1910. In The Dream, his last and
largest painting, Rousseau
presented a unique interpretation
of the traditional theme of the
reclining nude.

Portrait of Doctor Gachet by Vincent Van

Gogh, 1890.
In Portrait of Doctor Gachet, Van Gogh strove
to elicit a complex mixture of emotions within
the viewer, rather than portray a naturalistic
description of the sitter. Van Gogh created
painterly rhythms and swirling forms within
the arrangement of the figure in order to
convey elements of strength, intelligence, and
melancholy.
Through such intimate and personalized
interpretations, Van Gogh epitomized the
rejection of Impressionistic optical observation
in favor of an emotionally laden representation
that appealed to the viewer's heart, rather than
his mind.

Fauvism (1900-1935)
Led by Henri Matisse, Fauvism built upon examples from Vincent van Gogh and
George Seurat. As the first avant-garde (new and unusual or experimental ideas), 20th-
century movement, this style was characterized by expressive use of intense color, line, and
brushwork, a bold sense of surface design and flat composition.

Luxe, Calme et Volupte by Henri

Matisse, 1904.
This early work by Matisse clearly
indicates the artist's stylistic influences,
most notably Georges Seurat's
Pointillism in the use of tiny dabs of
color to create a visual frisson. What
sets this work apart from these more
rigid methods, however, is Matisse's
intense concentrations of pure color.
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As seen in many of the works of Matisse himself, the separation of color from its
descriptive, representational purpose was one of the core elements that shaped this movement.
Fauvism was an important precursor of Cubism and Expressionism.

The River Seine at Chatou by Maurice

de Vlamick, 1906.
For The River Seine, de Vlaminck used
Impasto (a technique practiced by many
Fauves): thick daubs of paint applied
directly from the tube, then brushed
together in short strokes to create the effect
of movement.

Paysage à La Ciotat by Othon Friesz,

1907.
Although Friesze was a devoted Fauvist
for as long as any of his contemporaries,
Friesz's approach to the canvas was far
more traditional, his color choices were
more deliberate, and his application of
paint was more methodical. In this sense,
Friesz painted an Impressionist-style
landscape using Fauvist color.

The Woman with a Hat by Henri Matisse, 1905

Matisse attacked conventional portraiture with this
image of his wife. Amelie's pose and dress are
typical for the day, but Matisse roughly applied
brilliant color across her face, hat, dress, and even
the background. Leo Stein called it, "the nastiest
smear of paint I had ever seen," yet he and
Gertrude bought it for the importance they knew it
would have to modern painting.
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Expressionism (1905-1920)
Expressionism emerged as a response to increasingly conflicted world views and the
loss of spirituality. Expressionist art sought to draw from within the artist, using a distortion
of form and strong colors to display anxieties and raw emotions. Expressionist painters, in a
quest for authenticity, looked for inspiration beyond that of Western art and frequented
ethnographic museums to revisit native folk traditions and tribal art.

Mad Woman by Charm Soutine, 1920.

Soutine’s violent brushstrokes and contorted lines
communicate an almost unnerving tension, but
nevertheless do not deny his subject a rich depth
of character. Soutine invited viewers to observe
the subject closely, to gaze into her eyes and
study her asymmetrical face and form. In many
ways, this painting embodies the essence of the
Expressionist style; Mad Woman visibly vibrates,
contorts, shifts, pushes, and pulls, providing the
viewer with Soutine's vision of the inner torment
of his sitter.

The Scream by Edvard Munch

Munch focused on scenes of death,
agony, and anxiety in distorted and
emotionally charged portraits, all themes
and styles that would be adopted by the
Expressionists. Here, in Munch's most
famous painting, he depicts the battle
between the individual and society. The
Scream evokes the jolting emotion of the
encounter and exhibits a general anxiety
toward the tangible world.

The roots of Expressionism can be traced to Vincent van Gogh, Edvard Munch, and
James Ensor. Prominent groups including Die Brücke (The Bridge) and Der Blaue Reiter
(The Blue Rider) formed so artists could publish works and express their ideals collectively.
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Houses at Night by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, 1912.

After co-founding Die Brücke in Dresden, Schmidt-
Rottluff moved to the booming city of Berlin, where
he painted this abstracted rendering of a city block.
The buildings stagger apart from each other at odd
angles over an eerily empty street, evoking the
alienation of modern urban society.

Large Blues Horses by Franz Marc, 1911.

Marc was a key member of Der Blaue Reiter,
and is known for his use of animal
symbolism. This canvas belonged to a series
of works that centered on the theme of
horses, which he regarded as emblems of
spiritual renewal. For the artist, the
movement away from realistic depiction
represented a turn towards the spiritual, the
emotional, and the authentic. As with many
Expressionists, color was symbolic rather
than descriptive for Marc. He drew upon the
emotive qualities of his palette to convey his
vision of the spiritual blue beasts.

Cubism (1907-1914)
Cubism was established by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, who rejected the
concept that art should copy nature. They moved away from traditional techniques and
perspectives; instead, they created radically fragmented objects through abstraction.

Les Desmoiselles d’Avignon by Pablo Picasso,

1907.
Picasso's painting was shocking even to his closest
artist-friends both for its content and for its formal
experimentation. Their blatant sexuality was
heightened by Picasso's influence from non-
Western art that is most evident in the faces of three
of the women, which are rendered as mask-like,
suggesting that their sexuality is not just aggressive,
but also primitive. Picasso abandoned the
Renaissance illusion of three-dimensionality,
instead presenting a radically flattened picture
plane that is broken up into geometric shards.
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Bottle and Fishes by Georges Braque, 1910-

12
Bottle and Fishes is an excellent example of
Braque's foray into Analytic Cubism, while
he worked closely with Picasso. This
painting has the restricted characteristic earth
tone palette rendering barely perceptible
objects as they disintegrate along a horizontal
plane. While there are some diagonal lines,
Braque's early paintings tended to work
vertically or horizontally.

Many Cubist painters’ works are marked by flat, two-dimensional surfaces, geometric
forms or “cubes” of objects, and multiple vantage points. Often, their subjects weren’t even
discernible.

Surrealism (1917-1950)
Surrealism emerged from the Dada art movement in 1916, showcasing works of art
that defied reason. Surrealists denounced the rationalist mindset. They blamed this thought
process on events like World War I and believed it to repress imaginative thoughts.
Surrealists were influenced by Karl Marx and theories developed by Sigmund Freud, who
explored psychoanalysis and the power of imagination.

The Double Secret by Rene Magritte, Indestructible Object (or Object to

1927 Be Destroyed), Oversized
reproduction of 1923 by Man Ray

Influential Surrealist artists like Salvador Dalí tapped into the unconscious mind to
depict revelations found on the street and in everyday life. Dalí’s paintings in particular pair
vivid and bizarre dreams with historical accuracy.
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Soft Construction with Boiled Beans

(Premonition of Civil War) by Salvador
Dali, 1936. Dalí painted this work just prior
to the start of the Spanish Civil War of
[Link] depicts the anxiety of the
time, visually predicting the violence,
horror, and doom many Spaniards felt
during General Franco's later rule.

Lobster Telephone by Salvador

Dali, 1936. This is one of the most
famous Surrealist objects ever
created. The juxtaposition of two
objects that have little to do with
each other is a staple of Dada and
Surrealist ideas.

Abstract Expressionism (1940s-1950s)

Shaped by the legacy of Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism emerged in New York
after WWII. It is often referred to as the New York School or action painting. These painters
and abstract sculptors broke away from what was considered conventional, and instead used
spontaneity and improvisation to create abstract works of art. This included colossally-scaled
works whose size could no longer be accommodated by an easel. Instead, canvases would be
placed directly upon the floor.

1957-D-No. 1 by Clyfford Still, 1957.

This painting marked Still’s own shift
into Abstract Expressionism as a non-
objective painter interested in juxtaposing
different colors and surfaces into a variety
of formations.
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No. 6 (Violet, Greed, Red) by Mark Rothko,

1951. Mark Rothko's work exemplifies Abstract
Expressionism's Color Field paintings. Each piece
is titled by color variations, and all consist of soft,
rectangular bands of color stretching horizontally
across the canvas. This painting is a prime
example of this kind of chromatic abstraction.
Color Field painters were concerned with
brushstroke and paint texture, but they came to
view color as the most powerful communication
tool. Rothko's blocks of color were meant to strike
up a relationship with the viewer's deep
consciousness, to provide a contemplative,
meditative space in which to visually investigate
one's own moods and affiliations with the chosen
palette.

Celebrated Abstract Expressionist painters include Jackson Pollock, known for his
unique style of drip painting, and Mark Rothko, whose paintings employed large blocks of
color to convey a sense of spirituality.

Pop Art (1950s-1960s)

Autum Rhythm (Number 30), 1950
(above) and Full Fathom Five, 1947
(left) are examples of Jackson Pollock’s
work that used the drip painting
technique. Since their first exhibition,
critics have come to recognize that drip
paintings such as this might also be read
as major developments in the history of
modern painting. With them, Pollock
found a new abstract language for the
unconscious, one which moved beyond
the Freudian symbolism of the
Surrealists.

Pop art is one of the most recognizable artistic developments of the 20th century. The
movement transitioned away from methods used in Abstract Expressionism, and instead used
everyday, mundane objects to create innovative works of art that challenged consumerism and
mass media. This introduction to identifiable imagery was a shift from the direction of
modernism.
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Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes so

Different, So Appealing? by Richard Hamilton,
1956, collage. The collage presents viewers with
an updated Adam and Eve (a bodybuilder and a
burlesque dancer) surrounded by all the
conveniences modern life. This artwork was
constructed using a variety of cut outs from
magazine advertisements, Hamilton created a
domestic interior scene that both lauded
consumerism and critiqued the decadence that
was emblematic of the American post-war
economic boom years.

Pop artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein sought to establish the idea that
art can draw from any source, and there is no hierarchy of culture to disrupt that. Perhaps the
most famous pop culture work of art is Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans production.

Drowning Girl by Roy Lichtenstein, 1963.

Lichtenstein here focused on cartoon
imagery. His work, along with that of Andy
Warhol, heralded the beginning of the Pop
Art movement, and, essentially, the end of
Abstract Expressionism as the dominant
style.

Coca-Cola (3), 19621962 (left) and Campell’s Soup I, 1968 (right). Here, Andy
Warhol used the techniques of his trade to create an image that is both easily
recognizable, but also visually stimulating. Warhol is credited with envisioning a
new type of art that glorified (and also criticized) the consumption habits of his
contemporaries and consumers today.
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Contemporary Art (1970-Present)

The 1970s marked the beginning of contemporary art, which extends through the present
day. This period is dominated by various schools and smaller movements that emerged.
Artists of the Contemporary art period work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and
technologically advancing world.

Contemporary Art is very diverse that it is distinguished by the very lack of a uniform
organizing principle and ideology. Artists use different materials, forms, subject matter, and
even combine style from other time period.

 Postmodernism: In reaction to modernism, artists created works that reflected skepticism,

irony, and philosophical critiques.

The AT&T Building, New York by Philip

Johnson, 1984.
The iconic 1980s skyscraper is similar in
form and scale to its high rise counterparts,
but is distinct through its embellishment of
a classical broken pediment. The design
caused notoriety in 1980s America through
its stubborn rejection of the Modernist
emphasis on clean lines, geometric form,
and the idea that "form follows function."

 Feminist Art: This movement arose in an attempt to transform stereotypes and break the
model of a male-dominated art history.

The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago,

1974-79.
The Dinner Party is one of the most well-
known pieces of Feminist art in existence
and is permanently housed at the Center
for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum.
The installation consists of a large banquet
table with place settings for thirty-nine
notable women from history and
mythology. The settings have gold
ceramic chalices and porcelain plates
painted with butterfly- and vulva-inspired
designs representing Mother Nature, the
vagina, and the life-giving properties of
being female.
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 Neo Expressionism: Artists sought to revive original aspects of Expressionism and create
highly textural, expressive, large works.

Athanor by Anselm Fiefer,

1983-84
Kiefer used an apocalyptic
palette, and brought together
the themes of alchemy and the
Holocaust. Like other Neo-
Expressionist painters, Kiefer
summons mythic themes
executed with compelling
methods and emotions in order
to explore what is possible
through art.

 Appropriation Art: This movement focused on the use of images in art with little
transformation from their original form.

Left: Robert Colesscott, Les Demoiselles d’Alabama, 1985

Right: Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, 1907

Leftmost: Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893-2920,

Middle & Rightmost: Artists Unknown
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 Digital Art: The advent of the camera lent way to { HYPERLINK

"[Link] } that allowed artists to use the infusion of
art and technology to create with mediums like computers, audio and visual software,
sound, and pixels.

Artwork of Alberto
Seveso. This is an
example of underwater
photo that captured
colored clouds of ink
using high-speed
photography.

Stephen Mcmennamy splices together

photographs of wildly unrelated objects to
form new, exciting images. Mcmennamy
calls these creations “combophotos.”
These perfect images go far beyond just
using Photoshop. He meticulously
photographs each part of the image before
slicing them together.

David McLeod, an Australian

native, is a digital artist
specializing in CGI (computer-
generated imagery). CGI is what
filmmakers use to create lifelike
special effects in movies, but can
be used in still imagery as well.
Mcleod’s work curiously
explores the world of CGI.

Each movement shed light on distinctive painting, sculpture, architectural

achievements, and other defining works. Understanding and learning about the historical
development of art will teach us to analyze the visual and sensual evidence to be found in
diverse work of art. We can hone our skill in looking closely to the description of the
composition which will offer tools for the interpretation of our rich visual culture. You do not
need exceptional skills to be able to understand an artwork. What is mainly required is to have
a deep sense of appreciation for the world as a whole and see things from a unique
perspective.
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Lesson 5.2: Visual Styles

Lesson Summary

This lesson will discuss the different styles an artist used in a work of art. This will
also tackle the importance of the different elements and principles for an artist to create a
piece of art, and how these elements and principles make a work identifiable for a particular
culture, period, region, group, or person.

Learning Outcomes

 Explore the elements of art and the principles of design used by artists.
 Evaluate the role of the elements and principles in the composition of a work of art.
 Discover the different factors that affect an artist’s style of painting.

Discussion

Visual Style describes the way the artwork looks. Style is basically the manner in which
the artist portrays his or her subject matter and how the artist expresses his or her vision.
Style is determined by the characteristics that describe the artwork, such as the way the artist
employs form, color, shape, and all other elements of visual arts.
Another important factor in determining the style of an artwork is to examine the way the
artist handles the medium, taking into account the method or technique the artist uses. An
additional aspect of art styles is the philosophy or driving force behind the artwork. All these
stylistic elements are defined by the choices artists make as they compose their artwork.
Artworks that have certain features in common are considered to have the same style.
Sometimes this means that they are part of the same Movement, but not always. The concept
of Movements (art period) in art is usually linked to a specific time (and sometimes place) in
history. For instance, there are painters today who still paint in an Impressionistic manner,
embracing the concepts that first defined Impressionism in the 19th century. However,
because they are contemporary artists who are inspired by the Impressionists, they are not
really part of the original "Impressionist movement" as it exists in historical terms. Although
art styles can be resurrected from the past, the movement itself is still anchored in its original
position on the art history timeline.

Cultural Style
Culture is whatever grows up around us, the milieu in which we live and breathe,
which may include nature and the many elements of civilization. Culture includes the cars we
drive, the skyscrapers we visit, the kind of bed we sleep on, the jobs we hold, the churches we
support, the games we play, and the norms we follow. Since societies have developed their
own beliefs and style in material forms (clothing, building, etc.), one can say an artist is a
product of his/her culture.
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Additionally, Cultural Styles refer to distinctive characteristics in artworks

throughout a particular society or culture. Some main elements of cultural styles are recurring
motifs (repeated design), created in the same way by many artists. Cultural styles are formed
over hundreds or even thousands of years and help define cultural identity.
To make it easier to understand, we can compare two masks: one from Alaska and the
other from Canada.

The Yup'ik dance mask (left) from Alaska is stylized with oval and rounded forms
divided by wide bands in strong relief (a sculptural technique where three-dimensional
sculpted elements are raised from a flat base). The painted areas outline or follow shapes.
Carved and attached objects give an upward movement to the whole mask, and the face
carries an animated expression.
By comparison, the Groundhog Mask (right) from the Tlingit culture in coastal
northwestern Canada exhibits similar forms and many of the same motifs. The two mouths
are particularly similar to each other. Groundhog’s visage takes on human-like characteristics
just as the Yup’ik mask takes the form of a bird.
The kind of style applied for both mask is almost similar because both places have the
same cultural style that ranges from western Alaska to northern Canada.

Period Style
Art changes as it is affected and influenced by changes occurring in politics, economy,
geography, and technical events. A Period Style set of defining characteristics and designs
distinguish the architectural and decorative expressions of a historic movement (refer to Art
History topic). The language for period styles is best spoken by quantifying and qualifying
terms like who, what, where, when, and why. The historic context of a period style links with
the visual characteristics to provide a deeper understanding of the whole “look” or “story.”
Take a look at these artworks by Pablo Picasso that changes its motif as the period in
which it was created also changed.
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One can identify the different styles used by Pablo Picasso in his painitng (From left to write)
The Altar Boy (1896) is a Realist work, The Guitar Man (1903-04) is from the Blue Period,
and the Girl with Mandolin (1910) is a Cubist work)

The visual characteristics of form—shape, materials, structure, color, texture, and

size—provide the answers to the identifying characteristics that distinguish one style from all
the others. Matching form with the historical context provides a reasonably accurate depiction
of a specific artistic expression or movement.
Regional Style
Regional style is the term art historians use to describe variations in style tied to
geography. Like an object's date, its provenance, or place of origin, can significantly
determine its character. Very often two artworks from the same place made centuries apart are
more similar than contemporaneous works from two different regions.
To cite one example, usually only an expert can distinguish between an Egyptian
statue carved in 2500 BCE and one made in 500 BCE. But no one would mistake an Egyptian
statue of 500 BCE for one of the same date made in Greece or Mexico.

From left to right: Egyptian Polychrome Wood Coffin Lid, c. 750-600 B.C; The
Mask of Tutankhamun; c. 1327 BC; Aphrodite of Cnidus c. 350–340
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Personal Style
Personal style is the distinctive manner of individual artists. This often decisively
explains stylistic discrepancies among monuments of the same time and place. Each artist has
his or her own personal art style, which is developed throughout his or her lifetime. An artist's
style can change and adapt as the artist grows both as an artist and as a person.
Let’s take a look at the paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe and Ben Shan that are both
painted in the same era and place.

Georgia O'Keeffe, Jack-in-the-Pulpit No. 4, 1930 (left);

Ben Shahn, The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti, 1931-1932 (right)

As it can be seen, their works differ very much from each other. Therefore, it can be
said that it is Personal Style, not Period or Regional Style, which sets Shahn's canvas apart
from O'Keeffe's. The contrast is extreme here because of the very different subjects artists
chose. But even when two artists depict the same subject, the results can vary widely, just like
the example below.

Georgia O'Keeffe, Red Canna, 1919 (right), Ben Shahn’s Gestures of the Little
Flowers, 1968
Two Basic Forms of Style
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Representational Style
Representational Art Style depicts any identifiable object or series of objects and their
physical appearance in reality. It is also referred to as Figurative Art Style, being that it is
derived from real object sources. For example, a painting of a cat looks very much like a cat–
it’s quite obvious what the artist is depicting.
Approaches in using Representational Style
 Realism
Realism is an attempt to describe human behavior and surroundings or to represent
figures and objects exactly as they act or appear in life. Realist works typically portrayed
ordinary, or working-class, people, as opposed to heroic, historic, biblical, or royal figures. It
is a true-life style of art which focuses on social realities and observable facts rather than
ideals and aesthetics.

Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet by Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, 1942

Gustave Courbet, 1854

 Naturalism
Naturalism describes a true-to-life style which involves the representation or depiction
of nature (including people) with the least possible distortion or interpretation. It is a little
similar to Realism, but in Naturalism, the artist is bound to make tiny distortions to create his
idea of a perfectly natural picture.

A Frosty March Morning by Sir When Nature Painted All Things

George Clausen, 1904 Gay by Alfred Parsons, 1887
 Illusionism
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Illusionism is the artistic tradition in which artists create a work of art that appears to
share the physical space with the viewer. This term is also used to describe a painting that
creates the illusion of a real object or scene, or a sculpture where the artist has depicted figure
in such a realistic way that they seem alive (three-dimensional artworks are examples of this).

Andrea Mantegna's late-

Quattrocento ceiling
fresco in the Camera
degli Sposi
(commissioned by
Ludovico III Gonzaga for
Mantua's Ducal Palace) is
an early example of
illusionistic ceiling
painting.

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Abstract Style
Abstract Style is a style that does not attempt to represent an accurate depiction of a
visual reality but instead uses shapes, colors, forms, and gestural marks to achieve its effect.
It seeks to capture the essence of a form, yet not in literal representation.
There are two ways an artist might use the Abstract Style: it can be Expressionism or
Non-Representational.
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o Expressionism
Expressionism strives to express subjective feelings
and emotions rather than to depict reality or nature objectively. The
artist is not concerned with reality as it appears but with its inner
nature and with the emotions aroused by the subject.
What the artist would usually do is to begin with
something representational, and then abstracts it. For example, the
artist may start with an image that is a representation of something
that exists in the actual world, like a human face. The artist then
distorts or otherwise obfuscates the face to such a degree that it
becomes abstracted. An example of this representation is Pablo
Picasso’s The Weeping Woman.

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o Non-Representational
In Non-representational style, the artist attempts to
manifest imagery that does not in any way reference the existing
visual world. In other words, the artist attempts to manifest an idea
visually without utilizing existing visual language. They do not
present descriptions, stories, or references to identifiable objects or
symbols. Rather, they appeal directly to the sensibilities primarily
because of the satisfying organization of their sensuous and
expressive elements.
A helpful analogy is to imagine a composer attempting
to communicate the idea of innocence through a wordless song. An
example of this type of abstract art would be Perfect Happiness by
the abstract painter Agnes Martin, who often attempted to
communicate the idea of innocence through her work
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Perfect Happiness, by
Agnes Martin, 1999

Each person has a different taste in art. Something beautiful for one might be horrible
for others. Also, each artist’s style is distinctive and recognizable. We are able to understand
better the artist’s culture, place of origin, and personality based on the art style he/she is using
in his/her work. These styles also affect how other people appreciate an artwork that they see.